This damage to the brain is what causes the person to have impaired motor skills and speech (http://ucp.org/).
The term Cerebral Palsy comes from “Cerebral” meaning the brain and “Palsy” meaning impaired muscle control (http://ucp.org/).
Brain damage from this disability does not become worse, but the muscles can continue to weaken further, thus making the disability worsen
History of Cerebral Palsy
The discovery of Cerebral Palsy came about in the 1860’s when a surgeon named William Little talked in one of his medical journals about a disorder that caused stiffness in children’s muscles, and they did not get better or worse as they grew up. Little said that the cause of these muscle problems was a lack of oxygen. In 1897 Freud examined this conclusion and disagreed. He said that Little was wrong because it was just not muscle problems that these children had; he said that they also were experiencing mental retardation, vision problems, as well as seizures. More research was done in the 1980’s to continue learning about the causes of Cerebral Palsy (http://ucp.org/)
Learning challenges presented by Cerebral Palsy
Children with cerebral palsy may have difficulties with sleeping or toileting.
Cerebral palsy can affect children’s speech and/or chewing and swallowing.
Some children with cerebral palsy may develop epilepsy. Medication is often used to control this.
Sometimes children with cerebral palsy have difficulty processing information about shapes, speed and space – this is often referred to as a visual or spatial perception difficulty.
Some children with cerebral palsy may have learning difficulties or a specific learning difficulty – a particular difficulty with one particular kind of activity such as reading, drawing or mathematics.
Opportunities and strengths Cerebral Palsy provides
Children with Cerebral Palsy are generally happy and work hard to overcome their obstacles.
Assistive technology that can be used to support learning
Communication devices which range from simple to the technologically complicated. Children with Cerebral Palsy use communication boards which comprise pictures, symbols, letters, and words by pointing to or looking at the pictures or symbols and thus conveying and expressing their thoughts.
Augmentative communication devices enable the child to communicate – “talk” – with others.
Computer technology which runs the gamut from electronic toys with specially adapted switches to computer programs which are handicapped enabled and are operated by switch pads or keyboard adaptations.
Communication boards are an inexpensive and practical mode by which an individual can communicate.
This system does not involve any mechanical parts.
A picture of an object (a hairbrush, a toy, food, or printed words) can represent what the person is attempting to say.
RATIONAL FOR USE OF TOOL IN THIS SETTING
Children with Cerebral Palsy could use this tool to communicate with parents or teachers about what they want or need without talking.
LIST OF WAYS TOOL CAN BE USED TO SUPPORT STUDENT LEARNING
the ability for computer programs to easily store symbols, and then print a custom communications board every day to reflect the person's changing needs.
there are electronic communication boards which can use a hierarchy to display hundreds of times as many symbols than a conventional board.
Ex: A person with cerebral palsy could drill down through a hierarchy to express their feelings, needs, or to construct sentences by combining small phrases. To create a message, the person would select a menu with a specific category. The categories on the screen are similar to folders on a computer. When you select a category, subcategories are listed.
Categories for a young boy with cerebral palsy might be school, home. The category home might be broken down into eating, having fun, family, friends, etc.... Those subcategories are then broken down even further.
PREREQUISITE SKILLS NEEDED
None
WORKSHEETS/ACTIVITIES THAT WILL SUPPORT LEARNING
create matching picture games that use same pictures
create a personalized picture reading book using pictures from pictorial
create a pictorial from google images that fits the needs of the child
In the past, it would have been impractical to carry around a large personal computer and monitor in order to communicate via such electronic boards. Now that technology has allowed for the physical shrinking of computer components and light weight LCD screens, it is possible for people with cerebral palsy to carry with them small, portable communications boards
AUGMENTATIVE COMMUNICATION DEVICES
MINISPEAK/ WEGO/ DYNAVOX:
DESCRIPTION OF TECHNOLOGICAL TOOL:
Minspeak systems are being used by children and adults with a wide range of developmental disabilities, including Down (Trisomy) syndrome, Congenital Bilateral Perisylvian syndrome, and other developmental disabilities.
Minspeak systems are designed to match the complex communication needs of these individuals to support their vocabulary, language, and interaction development.
The Wego enables users to communicate using a range of powerful communication options and an easy-to-learn, intuitive interface.
It’s packed with many different options to meet a wide range of skills and abilities, yet it’s easy to customize with personal phrases and messages, as well.
The Wego is an ideal communication solution for children and adults with significant communication difficulties resulting from Autism, Stroke, Brain Injury, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), Cerebral Palsy, Parkinson’s, Down Syndrome, Developmental Delays or anyone needing a lightweight, portable communication device.
DynaVox line of communication solutions provides thousands of individuals who are unable to speak due to the effects of autism, ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, traumatic brain injury and stroke with the tools they need speak their minds, and connect with friends and family down the street and around the world!
Holding true to our commitment of creating technology that empowers individuals with unique communication and learning needs.
RATIONAL FOR USE OF TOOL IN THIS SETTING:
With these devices students who normally are not able to communicate can now communicate with everyone around them, including their teachers.
PREREQUISITE SKILLS NEEDED
None
LESSON MATERIALS AND ACTIVITIES THAT WILL SUPPORT LEARNING
The augmentative communication devices allow students to ask questions in class since they can now communicate. It now allows teachers to receive feedback on what the student is doing and does not understand.
Foot Pedals act as a three-button programmable keyboard used in conjunction with your regular keyboard.
It lets your feet take over lengthy, awkward or painful repetitive keystrokes or mouse clicks.
Key actions like Shift, Enter and Space can be re-programmed and entered with one of the three-foot pedals.
Each pedal can also be programmed to handle macros or key sequences of up to 13 characters in length.
RATIONAL USE FOR TOOL IN THIS SETTING:
The foot pedal keyboard is versatile and comfortable USB foot switches for clicking the mouse and activating key actions. This would be helpful to students that are unable to type in the classroom when working on the computer.
LIST OF WAYS TOOL CAN BE USED TO SUPPORT STUDENT LEARNING:
enables students to type and perform other mouse functions with their feet.
Designed for students with special needs, it can be used for individual computer based activities and literacy functions.
PREREQUSITE SKILLS NEEDED:
None
LESSON MATERIALS AND ACTIVITIES THAT WILL SUPPORT LEARNING:
The computer technology allows every student to be involved in any lesson using a computer.
What is Cerebral Palsy?
- Cerebral palsy is a disorder that affects muscle tone, movement, and motor skills.
- Cerebral Palsy is usually caused by brain damage that occurs before or during birth, or during the first 3 to 5 years of life.
- The brain damage that leads to cerebral palsy can also lead to other health issues. Including:
-vision-hearing
-speech problems
-learning disabilities
Types of Cerebral Palsy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=YA7vFaqB8Ds
History of Cerebral Palsy
The discovery of Cerebral Palsy came about in the 1860’s when a surgeon named William Little talked in one of his medical journals about a disorder that caused stiffness in children’s muscles, and they did not get better or worse as they grew up. Little said that the cause of these muscle problems was a lack of oxygen. In 1897 Freud examined this conclusion and disagreed. He said that Little was wrong because it was just not muscle problems that these children had; he said that they also were experiencing mental retardation, vision problems, as well as seizures. More research was done in the 1980’s to continue learning about the causes of Cerebral Palsy (http://ucp.org/)
Learning challenges presented by Cerebral Palsy
- Children with cerebral palsy may have difficulties with sleeping or toileting.
- Cerebral palsy can affect children’s speech and/or chewing and swallowing.
- Some children with cerebral palsy may develop epilepsy. Medication is often used to control this.
- Sometimes children with cerebral palsy have difficulty processing information about shapes, speed and space – this is often referred to as a visual or spatial perception difficulty.
- Some children with cerebral palsy may have learning difficulties or a specific learning difficulty – a particular difficulty with one particular kind of activity such as reading, drawing or mathematics.
Opportunities and strengths Cerebral Palsy providesAssistive technology that can be used to support learning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afKfSPvYQ3M&feature=player_detailpage
Communication Boards
DESCRIPTION OF TECHNOLOGICAL TOOL
RATIONAL FOR USE OF TOOL IN THIS SETTING
Children with Cerebral Palsy could use this tool to communicate with parents or teachers about what they want or need without talking.
LIST OF WAYS TOOL CAN BE USED TO SUPPORT STUDENT LEARNING
PREREQUISITE SKILLS NEEDED
WORKSHEETS/ACTIVITIES THAT WILL SUPPORT LEARNING
In the past, it would have been impractical to carry around a large personal computer and monitor in order to communicate via such electronic boards. Now that technology has allowed for the physical shrinking of computer components and light weight LCD screens, it is possible for people with cerebral palsy to carry with them small, portable communications boards
AUGMENTATIVE COMMUNICATION DEVICES
MINISPEAK/ WEGO/ DYNAVOX:
DESCRIPTION OF TECHNOLOGICAL TOOL:
RATIONAL FOR USE OF TOOL IN THIS SETTING:
PREREQUISITE SKILLS NEEDED
LESSON MATERIALS AND ACTIVITIES THAT WILL SUPPORT LEARNING
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm1AZf23kdM
COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
FOOT PEDAL KEYBOARD:
DESCRIPTION OF TECHNOLOGICAL TOOL:
- Foot Pedals act as a three-button programmable keyboard used in conjunction with your regular keyboard.
- It lets your feet take over lengthy, awkward or painful repetitive keystrokes or mouse clicks.
- Key actions like Shift, Enter and Space can be re-programmed and entered with one of the three-foot pedals.
- Each pedal can also be programmed to handle macros or key sequences of up to 13 characters in length.
RATIONAL USE FOR TOOL IN THIS SETTING:LIST OF WAYS TOOL CAN BE USED TO SUPPORT STUDENT LEARNING:
Designed for students with special needs, it can be used for individual computer based activities and literacy functions.
PREREQUSITE SKILLS NEEDED:
LESSON MATERIALS AND ACTIVITIES THAT WILL SUPPORT LEARNING:
SOURCES
http://www.minspeak.com/who.php#.UYgmHrXqlLc
http://wegotalk.com/wg/
http://www.dynavoxtech.com/community/
http://www.assistivetechnology.co.in/Physical%20Main.htm
http://www.assistivetechnologycenter.org/tlc/swi/foot.php
http://www.califone.com/products/kmft.php
http://www.webmd.com/brain/understanding-cerebral-palsy-basic-information
This site was originally created by Venessa Montgomery. It was designed to be altered.